Evelyn Cole Smith Architects LLC is a design firm specializing in the study, preservation and adaptive reuse of historic and culturally-significant properties. Principal Architect, Evelyn Cole Smith, is a certified Historic Architect with the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office qualifying as such under the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Evelyn Cole Smith Architects provides a full range of architectural services from programming and conceptual design through the development of construction documents, provision of bidding assistance, and construction administration. Respecting the environment and designing spaces that enrich and enhance our lives is the main objective of our practice.

Our practice has over 30 years of experience assisting private property owners, institutions and municipalities to assess existing conditions, prioritize goals, and develop maintenance strategies for their historic structures. We conduct conditions assessments and feasibility studies, research funding sources and tax incentives, prepare National Register nominations and grant applications, evaluate site and building conditions, develop plans for restoration and ongoing maintenance, design context-sensitive repairs, upgrades and additions, and provide oversight and quality control during construction and preservation efforts.

Licensed in CT, MA, NY and RI.

Clapp Memorial Library
National Register of Historic Places

Clapp Memorial Library was founded in 1883 by the bequest of John Francis Clapp, a successful Belchertown, MA native. Construction of the massive brownstone structure was completed in 1887. Very little has changed on this structure since its construction. The building displays a grand Richardson Romanesque stone exterior, featuring arched windows and entries, carved decorative roof finials and reliefs, a central tower and two magnificent stained-glass memorial windows that grace the north and south walls of the structure. The interior features soaring ceilings, ornate woodwork, built-in shelving and decorative wood trusses. Nearly all of the original fabric remains intact, having only undergone minor modifications over the years to add modern amenities.

Under the direction of Evelyn Cole Smith, a conditions assessment and capital needs analysis to understand the current condition of the structure and its systems and evaluate the financial outlay needed to make necessary repairs to preserve the structure for continued use, was completed. The assessment also reviewed accessibility accommodation and code compliance issues throughout the building and grounds.

Elmhurst at Springside Park
National Register of Historic Places

Elmhurst, the sprawling mansion on the grounds of Springside Park, a 249-acre park in Pittsfield, MA is an Italianate remodeled home originally constructed in 1856 by Abraham Burbank. Over the years, various owners and occupants of the home renovated the interior to reflect the contemporary aesthetic fashionable at the time.

In December of 2013 Evelyn Cole Smith performed a conditions analysis and prepared a feasibility study for the preservation and adaptive reuse of this significant historic asset. The work involved community outreach and collaboration with the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the City of Pittsfield. Subsequent efforts have resulted in the stabilization of the foundation as a precursor to further restoration projects.

Lyn Smith developed design plans and oversaw the construction to renovate and restore the greenhouses and the stucco-clad masonry potting shed at this park situated on the Long Island Sound shoreline. Lyn served as the architect of record and together with CME Associates, Inc. designed the extension of site utilities and drainage. Harkness Memorial Park is comprised of the mansion house, outbuildings, associated gardens and lawns on over 200 acres of property maintained by CTDEEP.

Cargill Falls Mills Complex
National Register of Historic Places

Located on the Quinebaug River in Putnam, Cargill Falls Mill, as it is known today, is an expansive mill property that reflects the early development, growth and nearly continuous operation of the textile industry in northeastern Connecticut. Fueled by an abundant supply of water power, the site supported a variety of early milling operations and later became the location of Windham County’s first cotton mill. Expanded and modified in the mid-nineteenth century to accommodate the production of woolen goods, the twenty-building complex, with structures dating from 1806, represents more than 180 years of mill architecture. The mill’s prime location, successful entrepreneurship, and access to immigrant populations and rail lines, promoted the development of what was to become the downtown core of Putnam, Connecticut. Evelyn Cole Smith researched and wrote the National Register Nomination for the Cargill Falls Mill property which meets the National Register of Historic Places Criteria A as a property “associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”

Elia Kazan House Documentation
National Register of Historic Places

The home of acclaimed actor, stage and movie director, and writer Elia Kazan and his actress wife Molly Day Thatcher in Newtown, CT, 153 acres of woodland, mill pond and residential structures were deeded to the CT DEEP for use as a nature preserve. The declining 1885 farmhouse and mid-century modern studio, pool and tennis courts were slated for removal. Both main residential structures were documented to National Park Service standards for inclusion in the Dodd Research Library at the University of Connecticut.